MOSCOW, Aug 26 Washington is more cautious in Niger than Paris, so the local authorities expel the French ambassador, but not the head of the US diplomatic mission, said Nikita Panin, a researcher at the Institute for African Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
Earlier, reports appeared in the French media that rebels in Niger had given the US ambassador 48 hours to leave the country. Later, according to the State Department, the Niger Foreign Ministry contacted the United States, saying that it did not call for American diplomats to leave the country. Even before that, the Nigerian Foreign Ministry decided to deprive the French Ambassador to the country of Agrement and ask him to leave Niger within 48 hours.
“France behind the scenes apparently pushed through many initiatives to restore its control over the processes in the region, including, possibly, the intervention in Niger. «We didn't go. The motivation that became one of the reasons for the recall of the ambassador was that he actually refused to meet with the new foreign minister of Niger. As for the United States, they defend their interests more carefully and pursue a more balanced line, refusing to escalate,» he said. Panin.
He recalled that US Deputy Secretary of State Victoria Nuland visited Niger and met with the local military, and also that the US appointed a new ambassador to Niger.
“The position that the United States is building is perhaps less scandalous in comparison with France. Although this does not mean that Washington has a completely different attitude to the situation in the country,” the expert concluded.
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